[X4U] PowerMac recommendations

[Matt Gregory]

All,
My household is currently an all-laptop one.  But we're in the need of a
desktop we can use as a light-duty server (file/printer sharing, etc), as
well as enable us to better share a large iTunes library and be somewhat of
a workhorse to run Aperture/Lightroom, perhaps Photoshop, edit some movies,
that kind of thing.  We don't need 8-cores by any means, just something that
will perform acceptably.  For sake of argument, I'll define "acceptably" as
: when straightening a photo I'm willing to slow down and be more
deliberate, but not willing to lose track of when the computer has caught up
to my input (like on my G4 PowerBook).

I think a new iMac would do the job, but I think a PowerMac would be a
little more versatile and used ones seem quite affordable (compared to new
Mac Pros).  $1500 is what I'm thinking, but I see many have sold for less
than $1000 on eBay.

But I'm not very familiar with the PowerMacs.  I'm confident I'm looking for
a G5, but there are quite a few variations.  So I hope some of you with some
experience can give information such as:

1) Do you think a PowerMac G5 is a good fit?
2) Are there any common problems and/or certain models that would be best to
avoid?
3) Is there any particular model that stands out as a "sweet spot" in the
line?
4) Do any particular model(s) include subtle features that really increase
the bang-for-buck ratio?
5) Is there an end-of-life

or

a) Do the standard rules apply? : get the beefiest one you can find/afford.

Thanks,
matt.
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